**Spoiler Alert**
The One I Love/Director: Charlie McDowell/Starring: Mark Duplass, Elizabeth Moss and Ted Danson**Honeymoon: Director: Leigh Janiak/Starring: Rose Leslie and Harry Treadaway
I recently had the very good fortune to see two 2014 films at the local cinema that didn't get the attention--or the distribution--they really deserved. Both are terrific and coincidentally, they both deal with young couples in various stages of marriage. One couple's relationship (The One I Love) is in rapid free-fall while the other (Honeymoon), having only just begun, is threatened by an insidious alien entity. While the former is odd, surreal and sometimes humorously nuanced, the latter is terrifying, creepy and visceral.
And while both films have disparate messages about the state of marriage, one can easily conclude that both share cynical views about one of the world's oldest institutions. Both films also examine marriage through sci-fi-like stories; eschewing realism to tell compelling stories.
The One I Love opens with couple Ethan and Sophie (Mark Duplass and Elizabeth Moss, respectively) sitting before marriage therapist (Ted Danson). Their marriage has hit the skids and in an attempt to rehabilitate it, the therapist suggests they spend some time at a country retreat, which has had positive therapeutic effects on other couples having marital difficulties. Ethan and Sophie accept the therapist's offer and after arriving at said getaway, they find it to be quite charming. As they settle into the retreat, they find the place also features a guest house, of which they avail themselves of shortly thereafter.
But in the days following, Ethan and Sophie begin to notice strange goings on. They find doppelgangers of themselves on the premises. And fThe couple discovers that the their doubles can only occupy one house at time, individually, depending on whether Ethan or Sophie happen to be in said house.
As the situation becomes more bizarre, Ethan and Sophie find their alternate selves are their idealized selves or their better selves at one time in their marriage. Sophie finds the alternate Ethan to be more humorous and fun-loving and begins to prefer him to the "real" Ethan, who is more than unhappy with the situation. Unfortunately for Ethan, he finds Sophie's Other to be a little too accommodating, though some aspects of her eagerness to please, like preparing bacon his wife would normally refuse him, appeals greatly to him.
As time at the retreat passes, discord between Ethan and Sophie continues until it becomes clear that she prefers Ethan's alternate while he would like nothing more than to stay with his wife and work out the more troublesome failings in their marriage.
In the end, a clever, O. Henry-esque ending settles their marriage crisis in an almost perversely humorous way.
The One I Love is director Charlie McDowell's (son of actor Malcolm McDowell) film debut and he demonstrates exceptional skill, keeping what is essentially a chamber-piece moving nicely and coaxing terrific performances from his small cast. Though both actors handle the material beautifully, Elizbeth Moss is particularly good; leaving one wondering why she hasn't successfully made the transition from T.V. to film.
What perspective do McDowell and first-feature screenwriter Justin Lader have on marriage, or at least Ethan and Sophie's relationship? Their message may be that couples have an irrational need for immutability in their relationships; an insistence their significant others remain the same and unchanged. It is Ethan that seems more rational about the realities of marriage, as his willingness to maintain his troubled marriage, with its myriad shortcomings is preferable to taking up with a pleasant imposter. Sophie has no qualms about being with the Ethan double, which tells us that maybe men have more realistic expectations about marriage than women. This is hardly a sexist notion, just one that squares with reality.
Honeymoon has a decidedly different take on marriage; one that is cynical and maybe more feminist. Made by another first-time director, Leigh Janiak, the film makes its point in the horror genre and in a powerfully frightening manner.
Newly married young couple Paul (Harry Treadaway) and Bea (Rose Leslie) have chosen a cabin in the woods for their honeymoon escape. During their stay, they come upon a shabby restaurant near their cabin. The proprietor forcefully demands that they leave. Before the couple depart, Bea recognizes him as someone she's known from childhood. From the way she greets him, we're able to glean that some kind of romance or crush was involved, which irks Paul and sets the couple briefly at odds. But more ominous is the man's distraught wife, who warns them away from the place. The woman's strange behavior, leads Bea and Paul to conjecture about spousal abuse.
Back at their cabin, all is relatively well until Paul notices Bea's strange, absent-minded breakfast preparations (Breakfast figures prominently in both films, I guess), where she forgets to add coffee to the hot water and how to make french toast. This follows a strange, nighttime episode where Paul finds Bea has somnambulated in the forest.
The honeymoon begins to fall apart when Bea begins to show signs of not being herself and Paul finds strange wounds on her inner thighs, which she vehemently tries to hide from her husband. Paul also begins to notice strange lights shining through the bedroom window. Though Paul begins to suspect the man Bea once knew, it becomes increasingly clear to the audience that she has made contact with an extraterrestrial intelligence; one that means to inhabit her body and visit unpleasantness on Paul. How the remainder of the story unfolds is mildly disturbing but riveting.
Like Charlie McDowell, Leigh Janiak shows a precocious, directorial flair for interpreting the story with precocious expertise. And she shows she can scare the wits out of an audience; foregoing gore for psychological and atmospheric dread. As impressive are the performances. UK actors Treadaway and Bea intensify the story with whiz-bang performances. It is to Janiak's credit that she is able to craft such a spellbinding film with a relatively miniscule budget.
It is interesting to note that the woman Bea and Paul met in the restaurant also becomes a victim of the alien entities. Why the women were specifically targeted is never divulged but serves as interesting symbolism. The fact the men both become expendable says something about Janiak's take on marriage. Where The One I Love addresses the notion of expectations, Honeymoon says something about female empowerment in the 21st century. The timeworn convention that a woman must have a man for self-validation is metaphorically of disposed here.
The films would make a fascinating double bill, if such screenings still played on contemporary screens. It is too bad both films didn't get more attention. The One I Love and Honeymoon would have certainly made my favorite films of 2014 list had I been able to see them in theaters last year.
Keep your eyes on Charlie McDowell and Leigh Janiak; if film companies can pull their respective heads out of their respective fannies, they might better promote their next films. Since I can't suggest that one see the films at the local theater, I recommend catching them on Netflix.
Honeymoon
The One I Love
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